Erika Staël von Holstein

Erika Staël von Holstein (née Widegren) is Co-Founder and Chief Executive of Re-Imagine Europa (RIE), an international think tank that operates as the first incubator for new political ideas for Europe for the 21^st century.

Founded by President Valéry Giscard d’Estaing, in honour of his partnership and friendship with Chancellor Helmut Schmidt and their efforts to define a future that goes beyond personal, national or partisan interests, RIE’s mission is to redefine how long-term vision and policies are developed using new technologies to foster a dynamic public discourse, collective intelligence and realistic solutions for the benefit of a stronger, fairer and more competitive Europe.

Together with Professor Manuel Castells, Erika Staël von Holstein leads the RIE Task Force on “Democracy in a Digital Society”, which brings together over one hundred international experts from academia, policy, media, civil society and industry to develop a blueprint of what a European model for the digital society could look like.

Erika Staël von Holstein has been working in the field of connecting science, society and policy for over a decade. She is fellow at PlusValue, a UK-based European company focusing on social innovation; she is board member of Citizen Communication Platform, a Swedish project to promote stronger communication with citizens; and member of the committee supporting the work of Luc Van den Brande, Special Adviser to President Jean- Claude Juncker, for the Report on the “Outreach towards Citizen” Strategy.

She has written and contributed to numerous reports, articles and opinion pieces, such as: “The Dream of Europe: Creative efforts to reimagine the EU” (OECD – The Forum Network, 2022); Reimagining Europe: engaging the younger generation is vital for the future” (EPFMA Bulletin 76, 2021); “Mechanisms that Shape Social Media and their Impact on Society” (2020) “Democracy in a Digital Society” (Re-Imagine Europa, 2019); “Citizen Engagement and Media Campaign on Chronic Diseases” (EISMD, 2016); “Have your say…about Science! Special Initiative for Citizen Engagement in Science” (EISMD, 2014); “The Role of the Media in Responsible Research and Innovation” (EISMD 2013); “European Research and Innovation – 2020: What can the leading institutions of civil society do for Europe?” (EISMD, 2010).

She is a frequent speaker and moderator at European conferences on these topics including: “Biennale Tecnologia” (Torino, 2022); Re-Imagine Europa Annual Forum 2022 “Emotions, Narratives and the Future of Europe”
(Brussels, May 2022); OECD High-level Roundtable ‘Rethinking Technology for Inclusive Transitions’ – Panel “Setting Goals and Agenda Through Foresight and Participatory Processes” (online event, December 2021); ETUC Rethinking “Rethinking Our Growth Model to Ensure a Job-Rich Recovery” (online event, September 2021); EPRS event “How should democracies respond to the disinformation dilemma?” (Brussels, February 2020); “Lessons from Europe” (Rio de Janeiro, July 2019); OECD High-level Meeting “Understanding the Economy and How to Make It Work Better for People” (Madrid – April 2019); RIE-ALLEA Forum on “Democracy in a Digital Society (Berlin – January 2019); OECD Forum 2018 (Paris – May 2018); Economic Ideas Forum 2017 (Brussels - November 2017); SAPEA International Science Conference"Crossing Boundaries: New Approaches to Science for Policy in Europe" (Tallinn - October 2017); European Parliament - European Innovation Summit (Brussels - November 2016); European Commission - 2^nd INGSA Conference on "Science and Policy Making: towards a new dialogue" (Brussels, September 2016).